Mai Joshin
by topleka
Summary: In the far future, Mai and her brother Takumi are travelling to the Fuuka Space Colony when a monster attacks their space ship. They are saved by a girl known as a Joshin. And Mai is one too? Another alternate reality for the stars of Mai HiME.
1. Chapter 1: I'm a Goddess?

舞-女神

My Joshin

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Joshin means goddess, and can also be pronounced 'megami.'

This is another alternate reality installment in the HiME project. Sunrise already covered high school and fantasy, so this fanfic goes…into OUTER SPACE. So this is a little tongue-in-cheek, but I will do my best to make it worthy of being considered a third installment in the HiME series.

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Flight 01 – I'm a Goddess?

Mai stared out the window, her heart beating with excitement as she gazed upon the sea of stars that extended into space. Beside her, her younger brother Takumi slept peacefully, leaning on her shoulder. In her pocket, she had tucked away the letter that had sent the siblings on this journey into space in the first place. Moving her gaze from the stars outside the window to the silent figure of her brother, she pulled out the letter and gazed at the impressive seal of the Fuuka Space Station embossed on the envelope. No matter how many times she read it, it still seemed like a dream to her. The Fuuka Space Station was a jewel in the universe. As the largest station in the Windbloom Galaxy, it boasted fine schools, impressive political and military bases, and the universe's greatest hospital. And it was there that Takumi would finally get the operation he needed to help his weakened heart. Ever since their parents had passed away, Mai had worked hard to earn enough money for the operation. Months and years passed before the letter finally came, informing Mai that a room had opened up for her brother, and that the doctors were ready for the operation.

Something flashed past the window. "Huh?" Mai blinked, surprised. She peered outside, but saw nothing but the darkness of space. "Haha, that's impossible!" she chided herself. "Nothing could survive out there, right?" The ship lurched, tossing passengers forward, and waking a startled Takumi. Mai caught his arm before he fell. Another jolt rocked the ship.

"Nee-san, what's going on?" Takumi asked. "Is someone attacking us?" Before Mai could respond, the lights flickered ominously before shutting off. The emergency lights lit up, bathing the inside of the space ship in a red glow.

"What's going on?" screamed a young woman in the back of the ship. Another person screamed back "It's the Orphans! They're real!" At this declaration, the passengers exploded into a panicked frenzy. "We'll be eaten alive!" moaned one, while another began to cry.

"Everyone, please calm down!" commanded a voice from the front of the ship. Mai looked up the surprise. The voice was soft, sweet, but confident and powerful. A young girl with short brown hair strode down the aisle, holding what appeared to be a badge.

"She can't be older than me," Mai mused, "But she seems to have some authority." Upon scanning the ship, Mai realized that the passengers really had calmed down. Apparently, they believed in this girl.

Nearby, Mai heard a young boy whisper "It's a Joshin. We're safe now!" Mai turned around, curious.

"Akane Higurashi, HiME class Joshin," the brown-haired girl declared. "As an official officer of the Fuuka Space Station, it is my duty to inform you that while we are under attack, no harm will come to you. As of now, the shield on this ship is in working condition, and there is no reason to believe that our attacker is capable of breaking through it." Akane paused for a moment, and Mai detected a troubled look flash briefly across her face. "The identity of the attacker is currently unknown. While we wait for a rescue squad from Fuuka to retrieve the ship, I will conduct a preliminary investigation. Please remain seated for your own safety." With that, Akane turned quickly and disappeared into the main cabin.

Takumi turned to his sister, "Nee-san. What's a Joshin?"

"I don't know," Mai said, "But don't worry Takumi. We're safe now, okay?" She wrapped her arms around her brother comfortingly.

"Urk-" Takumi clutched at his chest, doubling over in pain. "Nee-san…" he managed to gasp through shallow breaths.

"Takumi!" Mai cried. She leapt to her feet, reaching for her bag that rested on the rack above their heads. Inside her bag, she found the familiar white box that held Takumi's medication. As she reached for it, the ship lurched, sending the case flying from her bag. "No!" Mai made a desperate attempt to grab it as it fell, but it slipped from her fingers and slid along the floor. She bolted after it, only to stare in horror as another jolt to the ship sent it out of the aisle and into the main cabin. Without a second thought, she chased the case into the cabin, only to bump into the girl from earlier.

Akane spun around, surprised. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, "It's dangerous!" Mai stared past the Joshin out the window where a large creature floated ominously. Its long tentacles and scaly body were smaller than the ship, but the many eyes that lined its body glared with a sinister glow.

"Wha—what is that?" Mai managed to whisper. Akane ignored the question, and instead pushed a button on the thin silver bracelet that she wore.

"This is Akane Higurashi to Fuuka base. Status report, please."

A young girl's voice replied, "We've launched Unit Harry along with Kazuya. They should reach your location in 12.7 minutes. In the meantime, I've alerted the other Joshin in the area. Unit Duran and Unit Kiyohime are on the way and should arrive in 24.2 minutes. Unit Julia is nearby as well, but as usual, she's not responding."

"Thank you Irina," Akane nodded before turning to Mai. "Now that you've seen the Orphan, I can't let you return and tell the other passengers about it." The brown haired girl turned to the giant window where the Orphan floated. "I've managed to paralyze it, but the paralysis wears off quickly, so I must concentrate on keeping it contained until my Unit arrives. Please stay out of the way."

Mai took a step back, still staring in fear at the tentacled monster that loomed outside the window. She had never heard of such creatures that could survive the harsh conditions of outer space, and yet there it was. The creature's eyes suddenly rolled wildly in its head. Mai shrieked.

"Materialize!" Akane yelled. She held her hands out towards the window, and two large orbs formed beside the monster. "Paralysis!" she commanded. The two orbs spun around the creature, sparks flying. The monster roared and swung a large tentacle towards the ship, but as the spheres orbited the creature, its movement began to slow until the tentacle merely slapped the side of the ship with a gentle thud. The space ship rocked slowly, but no damage was evident. The orbs melted away as Akane lowered her hands.

Mai stared in amazement. "What…what are you?" she managed to whisper.

Akane turned with a smile, "I'm a Joshin. A defender of the galaxy." She held up her badge. "We're a special unit of fighters born with the ability to manipulate technology and interface with giant robots called Children."

Before Akane could continue, a young male voice came crackling from her bracelet. "Akane, we're here! I'm docking your Child now."

"Kazu-kun!" Akane smiled. She turned to Mai, "Take this," she said, handing a bracelet to Mai. "If something happens to me, please use this to contact the main base." The ship rocked slowly. "That's my ride!" Akane declared with a smile. She ran to a tall column in the center of the cabin and touched it gently. The column spun around slowly revealing a small chamber inside. She entered and the column spun around. A faint whirring sound, then silence. Mai stood alone, bracelet in hand. The room was quiet. Empty. Unmoving. A mere ten minutes ago, Mai had been seated blissfully beside her brother, unaware of the monsters that lurked in space or the Joshin with the power to manipulate machines. Yet now here she was, staring the creature in its dark eyes, and holding a bracelet given to her by a Joshin.

The monster's body shifted slowly as the paralysis wore off. It raised a tentacle and swung at the ship, but a flash of gold removed the tentacle completely. Mai gasped, staring in amazement. Between the monster and the ship floated a golden robot shaped like a lion. From the bracelet, Mai could hear Akane's voice. "Harry! Thunder blade!" The mechanical lion began to glow. With a burst of energy, it blasted toward the monster, tearing off three of its limbs. The monster reared back in pain, its eyes rolling around in anger. One of its remaining tentacles swung around, swatting the golden lion aside. The monster's body cracked with black energy. Its many eyes glared at the mech, sending beams of dark power at the robot. The burst of energy knocked the mech back. Mai could hear Akane's scream from the bracelet, but the sound barely registered in her mind. The monster had turned back towards its initial prey and was already reaching its remaining limbs to the ship.

Mai automatically took a step back. "No," she whispered. The monster's limb wrapped itself around the ship. Her eyes widened in horror. "No…" she insisted. The bracelet in her hand began to glow slowly. "NOOOO!" Mai screamed, thrusting her hands forward. Two orbs formed around the creature's body. The orbs burst into flame and spun around the monster with increasing speed. The monster reared back in pain.

"Thunder blade!" Akane's voice came through the bracelet. The golden mech blazed through the monster's body, tearing it in half. The monster's body slowly disintegrated into the darkness until there was no trace of the creature that had moments ago threatened the small space ship.

"Ara. Looks like we weren't needed after all," an elegant voice came through the bracelet. "My congratulations to you, Akane-san." Mai stared out the window. Two more giant robots loomed: a multiple-headed purple snake, and a silver wolf.

"What a pain," came another voice. This one was deeper and harsher. "These Orphans have been getting more common, too."

Akane's voice replied, "True. I wonder if it means something."

"Oh, what's this?" asked the elegant voice. "I see a fire element materialization." The firey orbs that had held back the creature were still orbiting gently in space.

"Akane, I thought your element was lightning," the deeper voice commented.

"That…that was me…" Mai said quietly.

"It wasn't me! Right, Kazu-kun?" Akane's voice replied.

Mai clenched her fist, "That was me…" she said, staring at the giant spheres that floated outside the window.

A male voice chimed in, "She's right. They just appeared."

Mai took in a deep breath, "THAT WAS ME!" she screamed. Silence. After what seemed like an eternity, a voice replied.

"My, my. Looks like we have a natural." It was the elegant voice again, this time with a hint of amusement. "Share your name with us, please."

"Mai. Mai Tokiha."

"Well, Tokiha-san. It appears that you, too, are a Joshin. I think General Mashiro would like to speak with you."


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Fuuka

舞-女神

My Joshin

Flight 02 – Welcome to Fuuka

"Thank you for coming to see me." A young girl with long purple hair sat across the table from Mai. Behind her stood two maids, one with short pink hair, the other with long brown tresses braided neatly. "I'm afraid you've had quite a shocking experience, dealing with the Orphan that attacked. My name is Mashiro, and I am the leader of the Joshin, Windbloom's most powerful defense force."

Mai nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. This girl was younger than Takumi, and yet she was a commander of military forces? When they had first met, Mai noticed she was confined to a hover chair. How did a girl who couldn't even walk gain leadership over what was apparently the most powerful military unit in the Windbloom Galaxy? And what was with those maids?

"I don't know how much Akane and the others explained to you, so I will start from the beginning." Mashiro folded her hands in front of her, pausing to collect her thoughts. "About fourteen years ago, the Fuuka Space Station was merely a small government research base dedicated to studying the stars. One star, in particular stood out to researchers as unusual. This red star seemed to give off strange pulses at random times during the year. The pulse was unlike any other energy previously understood, so researchers were intensely interested in what it did."

Mashiro paused and held her hand out towards the large window that decorated the room they stood in. "At that time, nothing you see out there had been built. Only this building existed, and it was in this building that one of the doctors gave birth to a young girl. Her birth coincided with one of the red star's bursts of energy, although the researchers thought nothing of it until the girl began displaying unusual abilities: namely, the ability to manipulate machines."

Mai nodded. "Yes, Akane told me that part."

"I see," Mashiro replied quietly. "Of course, you can probably guess that the scientists found the red star to be the cause of her powers. They hypothesized that other girls existed with similar abilities, and began searching for them. As you know, those girls are today known as Joshin. And we have reason to believe that you, too are a Joshin."

Mai leaned back in her chair, unsure of what to say. Even now, she barely remembered what had happened on the space ship. Everything seemed so unreal, and here this girl sat, calmly telling her that thanks to some star in some galaxy, she now had the ability to manipulate machines. It was hardly believable.

As if reading her thoughts, Mashiro spoke up, "I understand this is hard for you to take in. To be honest, I'd like to recruit you as a member of the military, but I'll give you time to think about it. In the meantime, please let Aoi show you around the base. Aoi."

The brown haired maid nodded with a smile, "Yes, Mashiro-sama," Turning to Mai, she motioned towards the door, "Tokiha-san, please follow me."

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Mai shuddered as she listened to her footsteps echo down the long white hallway. "Is it always this cold?" she queried.

Aoi laughed. "You'll get used to it. We'll have to find you some warmer clothes, though," she added, indicating the short skirt and sleeveless vest that Mai currently wore.

The orange-haired girl blushed. "I guess so."

Aoi stopped in front of a large door and placed her hand on the scanner beside it. The door slid open silently to reveal a huge room that looked like a military hangar of some sort. One wall was lined with computers, another with mechanical parts. In the center of the room, a large robot stood, covered in scaffolding. A group of workers stood near the top, installing something in the cockpit.

"Nee-san!" called a familiar voice. Takumi ran up to his sister with a smile. "Isn't this place amazing?"

Behind Takumi, a young green-haired boy approached. "So, this is your sister? From the way you spoke about her, I expected a real goddess," he said calmly. Mai eyed the boy curiously. He was about Takumi's age, but he looked years more mature. His dark green hair was tied back, and his zippered jumpsuit was stained in oil. He wiped his hand on a rag before holding it out in greetings, "Akira Okuzaki. I'm the head mechanic here at Fuuka."

Mai was surprised. "Head mechanic? Is everyone here this young?" she inquired.

Aoi laughed. "It seems the higher up you go, the younger they are, doesn't it?" she said with a smile. "Akira here is quiet talented, and Mashiro-sama…well, she definitely deserves her position."

"I'll say," Akira muttered. "After all that, I'm surprised she's still alive." He glanced up at Mai's shocked face. "Ah, never mind that," he said, turning around. "Now that you're here, I don't have to baby-sit that kid anymore. It's back to work for me."

"Baby-sit?" Mai asked, surprised.

Takumi blushed. "Well, I just asked him to show me around. I didn't realize I was such a burden."

Mai smiled at her brother, "You're never a burden, Takumi."

"Ara, so you must be Tokiha-san." Mai spun around to see a beautiful girl with long mousy brown hair. "Welcome to Fuuka," she said with a smile.

"So, you're the natural with the fire element?" asked another girl. Her long blue hair was carelessly brushed back, and her posture indicated that she'd rather be anywhere but here.

Mai blinked, confused. "That's the second time someone's called me a natural. What does it mean?"

The blue-haired girl answered. "It means you were born under the Joshin star, and have your powers naturally. Naturals tend to display some sort of natural element with they materialize, which is how we can tell them from the mods."

"Natsuki here is a natural," the brown-haired girl said with a smile, indicating the girl with dark blue hair. Her hand subtly reached behind Natsuki and landed gently on the small of her back. "I'm so jealous."

"Shi-shizuru!" Natsuki leapt aside. "What was that for?" she said, face flushed red.

"Oh? What was what for?" Shizuru replied, holding her empty hands up with a look of innocence on her face.

Natsuki looked away, flustered. "A-anyway," she continued. "Mods are girls who weren't born with Joshin ability, but were genetically modified to have similar powers."

Mai stared at Shizuru. "So you're a mod, then?"

Shizuru nodded, "That's right. I underwent quite a lot to get this way, but it was worth it," she said, glancing at Natsuki. "So Tokiha-san, are you joining us?"

Mai turned away, uncertain. "I…I don't know. This all seems so strange to me, I don't think I can handle it."

Shizuru smiled, "I'm sure you'll be able to. Natsuki here has had to deal with it all her life."

"Eh?" Mai asked, surprised.

Natsuki turned away. "Feh. I was the first Joshin discovered. Not as if it matters."

"Oh!" Mai exclaimed. "Then you're the one who was born here."

Natsuki shrugged. "Yeah, that's me. And I'm telling you now, it's not that great of a life. I'm not a huge fan of having to answer to some little girl all the time," she remarked, sneaking a glance at Aoi to gauge her reaction. When the maid showed no change in emotion, she turned away. "My point is, unless you're stuck here like me, you're better off going somewhere and living your life for real."

Shizuru chuckled softly. "My my, dear Natsuki sounds like a certain redhead I know."

Natsuki glared, "I'm nothing like that perverted flirt!" she declared angrily. "She only stays here because men like her pretty little Joshin uniform!"

"Who wouldn't like the uniforms?" Shizuru said with a smile. "You certainly look good in yours."

Natsuki turned bright red. "Shizuru!"

"Well, well. It looks like the Bubuzuke Onna is busy annoying people again," remarked a female voice. Mai looked up to see two more girls. The one who spoke had long golden hair. Beside her—no, behind her stood a shorter girl with short brown hair and glasses. The golden-haired girl turned to inspect Mai. "So you're the natural everyone's talking about. Well, I'm Haruka, Unit Koumokuten, HiME class Joshin, and I'm the best fighter in the squash."

"Squad, Haruka-chan," the other girl corrected. "And I think Nina-san holds the record for best combat record," she added timidly.

"That's not important, Yukino," Haruka declared confidently. "Now introduce yourself to the new Joshin."

Yukino nervously adjusted the glasses on her freckled face. "My name is Yukino Kikukawa, I pilot Unit Diana, and I'm a HiME class Joshin. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to working with you in the future."

Mai took a step back. "Wait, who said I was going to be working here?"

Yukino looked up, surprised. "You're not? But isn't that your Unit?" she asked, pointing into the hangar.

"Eeeh? That's mine?" Mai cried, staring at the large robot housed within.

Takumi smiled. "Akira told me about it. It's name is Kagutsuchi, and they're designing it to work with your fire abilities."

Mai stared in dismay. "But I didn't even agree to stay here…"

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Agreeing is just a formality. To be honest, you don't really have a choice, no matter what that little girl says."

"Now, now Natsuki, we don't want you scaring our new friend away, do we?" came a mocking voice from behind them. Mai whirled around to be confronted by a short young boy with white hair.

"Nagi!" Natsuki exclaimed. "How long have you been there?" she demanded.

Nagi shrugged playfully, "I can't remember," he said glibly. "But you should play nice, my Joshin."

Mai stared at him in fear. He looked like a child, but somehow, he looked so much older. His eyes were like cat eyes, and his false smile barely hid an evil smirk. "Who are you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Me?" he blinked. "Call me Nagi. I don't work here, but I can assure you that I have a vested interest in the Joshin project, and I'm delighted to meet our newest recruit."

"Now hold on!" Mai snapped. "I keep telling you people, I never—"

Mai's outburst was cut short by the sound of a large explosion. The ground rocked precariously, and for a short moment, the lights flickered.

"Whoa, I feel sick," Mai commented, clutching her stomach.

"It's to be expected," Aoi replied. "When the power shorts out, the gravity system turns off as well. If you're not used to the sudden changes in gravity, you might feel a little queasy."

"You should be feeling better now," Yukino added. The shaking had stopped, and no further explosions had followed the first.

Haruka put her hands on her hips. "What was that all about, then?" she remarked in a huff. "Are we under attack or something?"

Nagi smirked, "It's hard to tell Haruka-san, but I'm pretty sure that explosion came from the direction of the hospital."

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Whoo! A lot of characters introduced in this chapter. They're all familiar faces, though, so I hope you were happy to see them. For those wondering about the name of Haruka's Unit: in the My HiME manga, Haruka is a HiME with a Child named Koumokuten. I'm drawing from the anime, manga, and a bit of the game/visual novel to create this story.

And in response to the comments left for me:

Eagle8819: Haha, yeah. Now that you mention it, it does seem a lot like Candidate for Goddess. Hopefully it isn't _too_ much like it. I haven't seen the whole series, so I really don't know. ;; As for pairings, I'm basically sticking to the canon pairings that Sunrise used… .  
Sumiregawa Nenene: Thank you for the comment! I've already outlined the entire plot, so I definitely know where the story is heading. This chapter has a lot of exposition and not as much action, sadly. Hopefully you'll stick around a little while. I promise more action to come. -


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